Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
By the time the Bond franchise had reached its 18th incarnation in 1997 with Tomorrow Never Dies, the coveted opportunity to provide the title track was chosen through a competitive tender process. There were twelve submissions made for the movie, including songs from Swan Lee, Pulp, Saint Etienne, Marc Almond, Sheryl Crow and David Arnold. Arnold had already been personally recommended to compose the film’s soundtrack by Bond veteran John Barry, who had retired from the series in 1987.
LOTRO Server Issues
Monday’s datacentre migration has unsurprisingly proven problematic for Turbine. As a result major issues continue to affect LOTRO players with faults such as severe lag, bad rubberbanding and random crashes to desktop and server disconnects being common place. Players have also had to endure loss of housing items, loss of friend lists and disconnection from chat servers. Five days later, despite hotfixes and continuing maintenance many players still find the game “problematic”. Turbine are naturally trying their best to keep the community informed but the longer this problem persists the more damage it potentially does.
Are the Oscars Still Relevant?
The idea of a meritocracy where you are fairly judged by your peers is a noble and idealistic notion. It is one that many august bodies aspire to, as they endeavour to honour those they claim to represent. Yet the reality is often quite different from the intended aim. I believe that the Oscars are a text book example of this. Rather than being an impartial and honest award ceremony, the entire events is more a demonstration of corporate leverage and power politics. Furthermore, it would seem that the wider public has fallen out of love with Hollywood as yearly viewing figures fluctuate. Overall this is more of an event for the benefit of Hollywood, rather than a promotion of the art of cinema.
Alan Rickman (1946 - 2016)
I first became aware of the actor Alan Rickman during the early eighties while watching The Barchester Chronicles. He played the scheming curate Obadiah Slope who aspired to the office of Bishop, in this television adaptation of Anthony Trollopes novels. It was the sort of period costumed drama that the BBC excels at and a role the Rickman clearly relished. Six years later his performance as the German terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard gained him international acclaim and placed him squarely on Hollywood’s radar. He continued to appear in both mainstream blockbusters and smaller more cerebral independent productions over the years, yet maintained his credibility as a serious character actor, despite his fame and association with populist franchises.
The Decline of the PC?
Market analysis by International Data Corporation, an American market research firm, has shown a record-breaking 10.6 per cent drop in PC sales over quarter four of 2015, with Apple being the only manufacturer making significant gains. If you have an interest in economics and business per se there’s a full breakdown of the report can be found over at gamesindustry.biz and it certainly makes for interesting viewing. However like most numbers this data needs to be placed within a wider context, so that we don’t make the mistake of jumping to erroneous conclusions. So in what markets are PC sales dropping and what exactly are the reasons why?
Hearts of Stone
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was a gaming milestone in many ways and was by far the best game I played in 2015. For me an RPG is all about character and plot first, followed by gaming mechanics. The Witcher 3 has a rich and varied narrative that doesn’t shy away from difficult issues. The plot is nuanced and doesn’t offer glib binary dialogue options. I actually cared about the characters and was moved by the tragedy of some storylines. It’s the nearest I’ve come to an interactive novel. The open world is enthralling and combat is accommodating of different play styles. Overall I feel that the £27.48 I spent on the base game and season pass has been incredible value.
David Bowie (1947 - 2016)
Last September I was sitting in the cinema enjoying The Martian when to my delight Starman featured as part of the movie soundtrack. At the time it raised a wry smile and a moment of contemplation as I reflected on how appropriate the song was, the relevance of the lyrics and how David Bowie has been ever present throughout my youth and adult life. As an artist Bowie has continuously explored new avenues, tested himself and remained relevant while his contemporaries are just content to tour and revisit their greatest hits. Therefore I was both shocked and saddened to wake up this morning and learn of his death. It took a while to compute, after all, he only released two new albums last week.
Teddy Floppy Ear - Kayaking
I saw a trailer for this game last year and for some reason found it amusing. I did some digging around online and discovered that Teddy Floppy Ear or Miś Uszatek was an established character from Polish children’s literature. There was a TV show using stop motion animation, which ran from the mid-seventies to the late eighties similar to the likes of Paddington or The Clangers. There’s also a statue dedicated to Miś Uszatek Piotrkowska Street in Łódź, so it would seem that he’s held in high regard and considered to be cultural significance in Poland. So when a gaming bundle appeared recently at Indie Gala, including the above game and two others featuring Teddy Floppy Ear, I considered it rude not to buy them.
Room 237 (2012)
I knew very little about Room 237 prior to viewing, other than the fact it was a documentary about Stanley Kubrick's The Shining and that it explored the movies potential meaning. What is actually on offer is a movie about Kubrick fans and their personal interpretations. For those of a more charitable disposition director Rodney Ascher has created an ode to cinematic love. For those with a more sceptical demeanour, this is vehicle for exploring obsession and possibly an invitation to mock. Either way, it is very compelling viewing, despite being a little too long and a little too clever for its own good.
How Not to Do Business
I've been blogging for nearly nine years and by sheer persistence the audience has grown and traffic is relatively respectable. There are plenty of web based tools available that can determine how well a site is performing and as a result I have recently started receiving a great deal more unsolicited material. This consists of press releases, invitations to review content and even the occasional freebie. I'm fine with all this because it broadly indicates that Contains Moderate Peril is growing and appearing on the radar of a wider variety of organisations. Plus some of the stuff I’m sent is quite useful. At the very least it proves the old adage that if you throw enough shit at the wall, some of it will stick.
Oculus Rift to Retail at $599
The consumer electronics industry has been labouring on virtual reality for decades, pursuing what they see as the next major technological innovation of our time. I have never doubted that VR has many practical applications that are both beneficial and profitable. Gaming is certainly one of them, offering a new medium in immersive entertainment. However I have never felt especially enthralled the prospect of VR and what it has to offer. I don’t like experiences that isolate my senses and so the idea of placing a device over my head that does just is far from inviting.
An Unpleasant Truth
A few years ago I was listening to talk radio presenter Nick Ferrari discussing violence in video games. It’s a perennial subject that often fills the phone in schedules. Nick is in his mid-fifties, is not a gamer and struggles to understand its appeal. While talking to a caller, the conversation continuously came round to the fact that killing plays such an integral role in so many games. The caller did their best to highlight the other aspects of gaming, such as the challenge of attaining achievements, the development of new skills and the social dimension. To which Mr Ferrari simply said “so why not play chess?” which also offers all of the above. Now I considered this to be a good question at the time. Then recently I purchased a game that stated as a selling point that it contained absolutely no violence, which brought this subject back to mind.
Classic Game Themes: Star Trek Online
MMORPG genre frequently benefits from a robust and charismatic score. It helps greatly in establishing specific races, classes and regions within the game, giving them a unique identity and characteristics. Music can be used to provide the player with audio cues about the environment and the quests they are undertaking. The use of a leitmotif can be invaluable in establishing a games tone as the story progresses. Therefore many games in this genre have sumptuous scores by established composers. As so many are set within a traditional fantasy setting, many soundtracks seem to follow a particular pattern. Star Trek Online however is one of a handful of science fiction based MMOs and as a result its soundtrack is subtly different.
The Decline of UK Politics
I’ve written this post from the perspective of politics in the UK but I daresay that some of the points are relevant to other Western countries. Please note that this is not a post advocating any particular political stance or ideology. It is a commentary about the system itself and the public’s current relationship with the world of politics per se.
Two party politics has dominated the UK for over two hundred years and the electoral system that has evolved reflects that. The first past the post system has major shortcomings when dealing with emerging parties and diverse voting patterns. In recent years the traditional parties have seen a decline in membership and they no longer enjoy the levels of support with the UK electorate that they did fifty years ago. My parents grew up in a culture of tribal politics, driven by class, wealth and left wing and right wing ideologies. I personally think the notion that a single party can adequately represent all my political, philosophical and ethical needs is risible. Therefore I have no specific party allegiance or cleave to a particular political school of thought. I am a floating voter when it comes to both local and national elections.
Things to do in 2016
There is a danger that this post may come across as a little self-serving and possibly even smug. That is not my intention. I am always fascinated by this time of year and the tradition of News Year Resolutions, mainly because so many people fail at them. Because I take a somewhat different approach, which is very much driven by my personal nature, I tend to fair a little better than some at achieving the things I wish to. Perhaps by sharing my approach and philosophy, it may be potentially beneficial to others. Then again it may not. Humans are such a wonderfully bizarre mass of contradictions.
A Year in Blogging and Podcasting
I’ve been blogging and podcasting for quite a few years now and although I enjoy both mediums, they do come with a degree of work. Also both undertakings require financing and at times can be quite costly. Yet despite these aspects of content creation, I still enjoy both mediums as a participant and as a consumer. There are still plenty of great blogs out there as well as informative and engaging podcasts. If anything 2015 was very much the year of the podcast as Serial proved. I consider reading blogs, listening to podcasts and watching quality You Tube channels to be the equal of commercial television and believe that these mediums will increasingly compete against more traditional platforms in the coming years. Here are some of the shows that I view and listen to:
A Year in TV
In recent years TV and cinema have effectively exchanged roles. When I was a child, cinema was the home of narrative driven drama, the exploration of complex social issues and at times even art. It attracted the best writer and as a result the best actors; whereas TV was the home of Airwolf. Thirty years on the opposite is now true. Cinema is often choked with bloated, bombastic franchises, largely devoid of any depth or substance. Television produces numerous multi-layered adult dramas that provide both writers and actors with far broader concepts to explore. Of course there are exceptions on both sides but broadly the analogy rings true.
A Year in Gaming Part 2
I started 2015 playing RPGs. Despite becoming bored with Dragon Age: Inquisition and its ponderous storyline, I still found this particular genre engaging. January and February are often slows months in my line of work, so it’s a good time of year to immerse oneself in games of this type. I played through both Arcania : Gothic 4 and Rise of the Argonauts and found them both to be enjoyable. Neither of these titles was revolutionary, being mainly “business as usual” RPGs. However both were bought as part of gaming bundles and the discounted price does have an impact upon my gaming expectations. For what they were, I enjoyed them.
A Year in Gaming Part 1
This time last year I wrote a two part post called A Year in MMOs. Twelve months later I find myself writing a similar round-up of my gaming activities. However this time round the title has now become A Year in Gaming. One of the most significant changes for me over the course of 2015 has been my step away with the MMO genre. Where in the past I would seek out new titles and stay abreast of those in development, I now find myself no longer drawn to the genre by default. Traditional titles such as LOTRO have been sidelined. This is because both MMOs and I have changed over recent years. Although I still play this genre (mainly STO), I do so sparingly and it is no longer the apple of my eye or the mainstay of my gaming time.
A Year in Social Media
The internet is awash with competing forms of social media, all offering a platform for you to interact with your peers. Although I feel that there are a lot of positive aspects to all these mediums, there is also a downside. Need I really catalogue all the iniquities of Twitter or Facebook? Let it suffice to say that the internet giveth and it also taketh away. Social media is like any other tool and therefore has to be used appropriately. If used correctly then it can be informative, entertaining and a great way to broaden your horizons. The alternative is a portal into a world of anger, stupidity and shit. 2015 was the year that I feel I finally got my personal relationship with social media right.